Any exams officers about?

[kackle]

We have applied for special
consideration today based on a medical condition ( long covid - fatigue and concentration issues), backed up with medical evidence from GP/ long covid clinic.

child has been told to report to exams officer after each exam to confirm symptoms

what happens next? Do they apply for special
consideration after each exam ?

how do we know if its been accepted / the % awarded ?

can the exam board decline to offer special consideration %

thanks

Call the school and ask exactly what it means

Unless things have changed the most % that will be given is 5% - and this for very exceptional circumstances such as a recent bereavement.

You will know if it was awarded by a mark next to the exam results sheet on results day, but you will not know what % was awarded. Again, unless things have changed recently.

As Pp said, this will be given a very small % - manage expectations

I believe applications are done at the end of the series in one go rather than for each exam - it would be a huge task otherwise.

Thank you all. According to the jqc guidance it looks like its 3%

just wondered what the process was as school not been very clear

I’m an EO. I can apply for special con after each exam, or I can apply in bulk at the end. You put in the basic info and submit it. It’s then either accepted (broken arm type of issues) or put as pending. Pending will be decided by the board at some point. Max is 5% but that’s for things like death of close family that week etc. You only get 1-2% for most issues, if anything.

Of course you won’t know what that percentage will mean in grades until results come out as it’s a percentage of how well they do on the paper.

Thank you. He’s been told to report to the exams officer after each exam so presume they are doing it after each one

can I ask the school if its bern accepted or pending?

thanks

You can ask but if it’s pending the school cannot do anything to push it through. The exam board will decide.

My son got special consideration because he was mid way through a medical diagnosis which would be life limiting. I was told the % would be done when all papers were marked.

www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/A-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-202122-–-General-and-Vocational-qualifications-Updated-8-April-2022.pdf

this is this years guidance if it helps anyone

Thanks I have had a good look at this

Have you managed to process any SC for a flare up of long covid ? Adverse side effects Documented by GP and long covid clinic?

if so, was it approved?

thanks x

Special consideration is only considered for things that affect the student on the day of the exam. It can not be awarded for things that may have affected the student during the course or affected revision time. Hence the exams officer needing to see your child after each exam, so your child can tell them if 'on that particular day' they were being affected by a flare up of long covid. Your child needs to tell the exams officer they were tired, fatigued, couldn't concentrate etc during that particular exam, if they were.

We then keep a record of each of these events and apply for the special consideration for all students, for each exam affected at the end of the exam series.

We could not apply for special consideration based on the GP evidence alone as we would have no idea whether your child was actually affected on the day. They may be having a good day and not have any issues at all for some exams.

As others have said, if awarded, it's likely to be 1-2% at most. The highest, 5% is reserved for a parent or sibling death in the 3 months before the exam.

Thankyou

He’s been told to go and see the exams officer after each exam if hes fatigued/ joint pain/ concentration issues that have affected him.

GP evidence will back this up.

Was just wondering really if the exam board will grant the couple of % of if they will decline it.

This is the first full exam season since covid, and the vast vast majority of exams officers will now be applying for special consideration until the end of the season, so really, no one has experience of whether it will be granted or not.

My advice would be to put it to the back of your mind, it's not going to make a big difference, even if it is granted, it's unlikely to change the overall grade. Help your child to be as rested and prepared as they can be. Assure them that whatever they do, it will be their best and good enough. Then if it is granted, it's a small bonus.

*not be applying

Pre Covid my DD got special consideration for Eng Lit as her tendonitis was really bad towards the end of the paper (it was longer than the others I think). The exams officer was called during the exam. I think that this is probably quite similar in a way to your situation as it was an ongoing medical condition that the school had been given a doctors report on beforehand. She was told to speak to the invigilator asap if she thought that it was going to recur so that the exams officer could be called.

No we’ve not as SC is for on the day things or very recent events. Sudden severe flare ups etc. Long Covid doesn’t really fall into that in my understanding as things like lethargy, brain fog etc are long ongoing conditions and should be met with Access Arrangements such as rest breaks, not SC.

I hear what you are saying and h derstand long covid is a long term condition

but what we are asking for is sc for a flare up of the symptoms which is affecting him at present whilst he is sitting the exam(s)

the jcq guidance seems to indicate this is covered

’3% A more common category (more cases will fall into this category), including:

• flare-up of a severe congenital/medical condition or a psychological condition;

We discussed access arrangements such as rest breaks but school said no as he hadn't had them for his mocks in Jan

School were wrong not to go with rest breaks. They are there for exactly things like this and don’t need to be NWOW. They can be used as needed and just a file note needs to be made by the SEBDCo as to why they were given. Ill health would justify them and we’ve got 2 cases of children with them for long term conditions that have flared.

“Flare up of ‘severe’ medical condition” sets the bar high for SC. Is his long covid classed as “severe” by his doctors?

I’d assume if an application was made for this it would be at exam board discretion.